Multistage Rockets
Multistage rocket technology is of particular importance in the history of modern rocketry. The idea of multistage rockets actually goes back to Chinese developments in the 14th Century, and the fire arrow. The Huolongjing was the oldest known multistage rocket, utilizing a number of small booster rockets that would then launch a number of the previously explored fire arrows. Though testing has demonstrated that it may not have been incredibly effective in terms of direct fatality rates, the psychological effects that it may have had on enemies was fairly significant. The concept of multistage rockets is beneficial to rockets in general primarily for the reason that the extra weight of used-up fuel storage is simply jettisoned from the vehicle, meaning that it no longer slows down the rest of the rocket, without slowing down the rocket to do so. Therefore, the total fuel required for reaching certain altitudes is significantly less than the amount of fuel needed with a traditional propulsion system. Staging also allows for a more versatile propulsion system. Since each individual stage can be thought of as a separate spacecraft after the previous stages have been jettisoned, the rocket system has additional versatility, as upper stages can have differently designed boosters designed for different jobs – lower stages can be suited for usage within Earth’s atmosphere, while later stages can be designed for the vacuum of space. As such, nearly every single modern rocket (or at least every rocket that has reached orbit), has utilized staged rocketry in some form or another.
|